Global drought, Stage 3
Right now, there is an intense heat wave in the entire Southeast Asian region and in California, from south to north. A major bridge in Pakistan was destroyed by raging glacial-melt waters due to intense heat. We are at Stage 3 of an ongoing global drought that refuses to dissipate. In fact, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, reported on 16 July 2021 that there were ongoing droughts in all continents, except Antarctica.
Drought refers to a slow prolonged weather situation with little or no rain. The Palmer Drought Index suggests that our planet had an index of 82 percent of “moderate to extreme drought” beginning 2021. This dipped a bit to 79 percent in February 2021. Then it soared alarmingly to 99 percent in June 2021. The global drought situation that started in 2021 is here with us in 2022, and if it extends into 2023, which is a great possibility, we will feel the massive effect of a deadly planet-wide drought. This is not to scare readers, but to persuade them to get ready and cooperate in community responses.
Common drought-prone areas include Ethiopia, Sudan, Eritrea, Afghanistan, China, Pakistan, Iran, Morocco and Uganda. The worst ever drought in human history was in China in 1876 to 1879 where by broad estimates about nine to 13 million people died. With a denser population everywhere today, a repeat of the China mega-drought is possible. The length of time of the drought determines the intensity of the impact.
For China then, it was a devastating four-year period.
Extended periods of little or no rain are mainly caused ultimately by climate change, aberration in ocean water temperature, changes in the local landscape, and erratic changes in the jet stream. Indirect causes include rampant unchecked deforestation causing flood-prone soil erosions and excessive burning of fossil fuels.
“Jet streams are relatively narrow bands of strong wind in the upper levels of the atmosphere. The winds blow from west to east in jet streams, but the flow often shifts to the north and south. Jet streams follow the boundaries between hot and cold air.” (www. weather.gov)
In the US, there is an unprecedented drought level in half of the mountain regions. In the West Coast, particularly California, the worsening drought extends from the Southwest to Pacific Northwest, increasing to a Palmer Drought Index of 85 percent by July 2021. Drought emergencies have been declared by many states, and water conservation campaigns are now being conducted.
In Brazil, the largest contiguous rainforest is slowly shrinking due to man’s effort to survive. Also, Brazil’s coffee production is down, and 23 percent of hydroelectric dams are not operating, inducing higher electricity prices.
In the last two decades, the United Nations reports that 1.5 billion people are affected by drought, with economic losses estimated at $124 billion.
(LA Times)
Water conservation and optimum usage are crucial to responding to drought. If a town theoretically consumes 100,000 cubic meters a day, reducing it by half translates to a staggering 1.5 million cubic meters of water saved every month.
It is at the household level where dramatic effective conservation is achieved, because it is cumulatively population-related. Simple things matter, like watering the lawn in the early morning instead of at noon, showering habits, refraining use of bath tub and jacuzzi, modern devices to reduce water pressure from the kitchen, the shower room and the garden.
The problem is how to convince indifferent people at the home level that their small contributions to water conservation, if put together, are crucial. The water conservation campaign for homes has to be planned very well, with communications consultant designing persuasive articles and spreading them around through the Internet.
There are other preparations that governments need to design and implement toward responding to the ongoing global drought.
“It is at the household level where dramatic effective conservation is achieved, because it is cumulatively population -related.
“Extended periods of little or no rain are mainly caused ultimately by climate change, aberration in ocean water temperature, changes in the local landscape, and erratic changes in the jet stream.